2016 Rolls-Royce Wraith Drophead Coupe Release Date

It has been confirmed that the 2016 Rolls-Royce Wraith Drophead Coupe will go on sale in mid-2016. First released back in 2013 Geneva Motor Show, Rolls-Royce finally decides to make a convertible variant of the fastest and the sportiest ultra-luxury model.

Just as the Phantom’s convertible version wears the Drophead Coupe moniker, the Wraith’s is sure to as well, and in both cases, it means the same thing: the top comes back. The Phantom’s convertible top is a soft, cloth unit, but due to the camouflage used, it’s difficult to discern in the spy photos whether the Wraith Drophead Coupe will go that route or substitute a folding hard top—though all indications point toward a soft folding roof.

Whichever form of top the Wraith Drophead Coupe uses, it should otherwise be largely identical to the Wraith coupe—though it will likely have to do without the brilliant starry-sky “Starlight” headliner available in the coupe.

In a statement released overnight, Rolls-Royce said the new car “will deliver effortless, open-top touring through the perfect marriage of modern Rolls-Royce luxury, style and elegance with an engaging and exhilarating driving experience”.

Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös elaborated slightly further by saying, “We are currently developing an exciting and thoroughly contemporary interpretation of a pinnacle drophead tourer which will introduce even more discerning men and women to Rolls-Royce ownership”.

Exterior

Aside from the folding roof, a handful of other visual differences will distinguish the car from its fixed-roof doppelgänger, including a slightly altered rear end, most notably at the trunk, which loses the fixed-roof Wraith’s raised cross-section, replacing it with a deck lid that sits flush with the rear fenders. To stow the top, the trunk also appears to have been shortened somewhat, likely impinging on its cargo capacity.

Otherwise, the Wraith Drophead Coupe appears to share the same key styling elements at the nose and sides, even preserving much of the hardtop’s graceful roofline with the top raised.

Powertrain

Under the hood, the same 6.6-liter twin-turbocharged V-12 engine, rated at 624 horsepower, should find service. Despite the coupe’s 5,200-pound curb weight, the big engine can glide the Wraith to 60 mph in about 4.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 155 mph. The Wraith Drophead Coupe should weigh somewhat more, and consequently be a few tenths of a second slower to 60 mph.

Release Date and Price

We’ve mentioned above that the 2016 Rolls-Royce Wraith Drophead Coupe will commence sales in mid-2016, so we expect that unveiling should take place sometime in spring of 2015. Official pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but we estimate that the upcoming Wraith convertible variant will cost roughly $350,000.